Quietus
2009-07-04, 11:57 AM
One of the things I've been toying with for my setting-in-the-works is a race of shifters, who are seen at best as opportunistic and unreliable, and at worst as active liabilities. The idea behind them being that each would have a single animal form they could change into, and their "primary" form being indistinguishable from humans.
What I'd been thinking about doing was making their shapeshifting ability similar to the Shapeshifting variant for Wildshape; Break it into predators/stalkers/flyers, and give stat bonuses/movement abilities based on that. What I've come up with recently, however, is a more broad option.
Give the players a list of animals, the way Animal Companion currently does - in fact, the animal companion starting list is a good starting point for this. The PC can shift into that form, but loses the ability to manipulate/wield any tools it was previously wearing. Equipment melds into the new form, and becomes inactive. They take on the animal's physical abilities, and gain all special attacks/qualities the creature would normally have - this means wolf/riding dog shifters would get the trip attack, but since they're medium sized and not huge strength, I don't think this would really make a big difference. For reference, the list of animal companions allowed is :
badger, camel, dire rat, dog, riding dog, eagle, hawk, horse (light or heavy), owl, pony, snake (Small or Medium viper), or wolf. If the campaign takes place wholly or partly in an aquatic environment, the following creatures are also available: porpoise, Medium shark, and squid.
I'd also add others - cats, for example. The players would, of course, maintain their own hit point total, even if their constitution changed, since this would be working off of the Wild Shape rules - though it would be at-will, and wouldn't give healing.
I may also give feats that would allow the player to increase the power of his shifter form; Gaining Scent in their human form, for example, or their animal form's increased visual acuity. I would probably also give the option of taking a "Dire form" feat for any animal that has one, so that someone whose animal choice was Wolf, for example, could later increase their usefulness in wolf form by increasing its power.
What I'd been thinking about doing was making their shapeshifting ability similar to the Shapeshifting variant for Wildshape; Break it into predators/stalkers/flyers, and give stat bonuses/movement abilities based on that. What I've come up with recently, however, is a more broad option.
Give the players a list of animals, the way Animal Companion currently does - in fact, the animal companion starting list is a good starting point for this. The PC can shift into that form, but loses the ability to manipulate/wield any tools it was previously wearing. Equipment melds into the new form, and becomes inactive. They take on the animal's physical abilities, and gain all special attacks/qualities the creature would normally have - this means wolf/riding dog shifters would get the trip attack, but since they're medium sized and not huge strength, I don't think this would really make a big difference. For reference, the list of animal companions allowed is :
badger, camel, dire rat, dog, riding dog, eagle, hawk, horse (light or heavy), owl, pony, snake (Small or Medium viper), or wolf. If the campaign takes place wholly or partly in an aquatic environment, the following creatures are also available: porpoise, Medium shark, and squid.
I'd also add others - cats, for example. The players would, of course, maintain their own hit point total, even if their constitution changed, since this would be working off of the Wild Shape rules - though it would be at-will, and wouldn't give healing.
I may also give feats that would allow the player to increase the power of his shifter form; Gaining Scent in their human form, for example, or their animal form's increased visual acuity. I would probably also give the option of taking a "Dire form" feat for any animal that has one, so that someone whose animal choice was Wolf, for example, could later increase their usefulness in wolf form by increasing its power.